Black and Turkey Vulture Wing Tags

We are conducting research evaluating the movements of wing-tagged vultures. Each tagged bird has a cattle ear tag in its RIGHT wing and each tag has a letter and number (ie. F47 or C20) or a series of 3 letters (ie. AMJ). The birds were marked and released in Virginia, South Carolina, Texas, and Florida, and the tags may be visible from below while the birds soar. The purpose of tagging is to get location information on the birds to see where they move and how the birds interact with the local environment. We also do satellite and GSM telemetry where we put transmitters on some birds to study their migration patterns and use of airspace (i.e., how high they fly, how far they travel).

All sightings should be sent to John.S.Humphrey@aphis.usda.gov or the mailing address below indicating the location of the sighting, tag number, species, as well as any pertinent behavioral or other information.

Additionally, the USGS Bird Banding Lab in MD which maintains the central database for marked birds in the North America requests that these reports also be sent to them which can be done by going to www.reportband.gov.